Tanderon (44 page)

The silence might have gotten awkward if the ship’s radiation alarm hadn’t sounded briefly. That was the signal I’d been waiting for, so I got out of the chair and quickly activated the suppressor. With the suppressor field on the ship’s main drive would not work no matter what anyone tried. I didn’t know what principles were involved in the device but I could use one, and if anything slipped in my operation against the pirates all they would win would be a dead hulk. The suppressor was a Federation secret, so I hadn’t mentioned it to the captain.

“Okay, Agent First Class Valdon Carter,” I announced as I headed for the door.

“The fun’s started, so let’s see what you can do. The sooner we finish the sooner we can come back here.”

Val’s face was pale, but he followed me out of the cabin. We moved quickly through the passenger areas and down one level to the service corridors, making our way to the power room. That was what the no-ones were supposed to take first, but if the captain had followed my instructions they would have found it locked. Just before we reached the last corridor leading to the power room corridor, I signaled Val to stop and peeked quickly around the corner.

And it turned out to be a good thing I’d decided to check first because five of the no-ones were heading our way, dressed in old suits and bangles and strutting as if they were club members. I held my hand up to Val with all five fingers spread, the pointed toward the corridor around the corner. Val nodded, thought for a second, then his features blurred as I stared at him. What he’d changed to was still recognizably him, but he was old. He bent over a little and seemed to shrink into himself, and even his eyes were washed out. I smiled a little before taking his arm to support him, and then we walked slowly around the corner.

The no-ones stopped short when they saw us, but we kept going as if we didn’t see them. Then they grinned at each other and rapidly closed the distance between us.

When they reached us, they spread out and surrounded us.

“Looks like we don’t hafta go all the way to passenger country for hostages a’tall,”

one of them said. “That cap’n’ll open the door, or he’ll watch us finish off these here nice folk right in fronta his eyes.”

“Yeah,” another agreed, pushing in closer. “But they won’t be ‘specting us back fer a time yet. Let’s have us some fun with that pretty little girl first. Just shove grampa outa the way, ‘cause I’m gonna take ‘er first.”

The friendly one reached for me, but I’d already decided to take him first. When he stretched out his arms toward me, I stiffened my fingers and jabbed him hard enough under the rib cage in front to cause his heart to burst. Then I turned to another of the no-ones and throat-punched him to crush his windpipe. After that I looked around quickly, and saw that Val had accounted for another two of the group. But number five had taken advantage of being ignored to turn and run back the way he’d come. The knife from my boot stopped him before he got more than twenty feet away, and it was all over with without a sound.

I walked down the corridor to number five, got my knife loose and cleaned it on the shirt he didn’t need any longer, then gestured to Val. When he came up I handed him the knife, then pointed toward the end of the corridor nearest the power room corridor. Val looked down at number five, matched his features, then started toward the power room corridor. I took the second knife I had from the sheath at the back of my neck and headed for the diverging corridor that came out half way down the corridor we were in. The diverging corridor also led to the power room corridor, but came out to the left instead of to the right.

I eased up to the far end of the diverging corridor, and looked out carefully. About twelve to fifteen members of the crew were there with their backs to me, all of them being watched by six of the remaining seven no-ones. The no-ones carried stunners and disruptors but handled them uncomfortably, as though they weren’t used to them.

Number seven was in the middle of the group standing directly in front of the power room door, and the captain stood to his left. I glanced over to the other side of the crowd and spotted the late number five coming up behind one of the no-ones on that side. The no-one stiffened and they both backed away from the crowd, but the no-one wasn’t in any condition to move on his own. I got busy and ghosted up behind the nearest no-one and put him away, then lowered the body quietly to the floor.

Everyone’s attention was on the power room door, so it wasn’t hard to finish off the other two on my side, then I checked on Val again. He’d already finished his three and had turned back to himself, and was now starting toward number seven. That meant I had to hurry, so I pushed my way through the crowd of crewmen and showed myself first.

“Nice time for a liner ride,” I commented to a suddenly startled number seven, not letting him see the knife. “How’s Flowerville doing these days?”

He swung toward me, and the ugly look on his face matched the ugly look of the disruptor in his hand.

“Who in hell’re you?” he snarled. “Where the hell d’you come from?”

“Don’t you know me?” I asked in surprise, still moving slowly toward him. “He said you would know me.”

“He who?” the man rapped, beginning to look confused. “I don’t – ”

He cut it off because Val had come up behind him to grab his wrist before forcing the man’s arm straight up. The man tried to pull away but Val tightened his grip, and the disruptor abruptly fell to the floor. When that happened number seven sagged and became the picture of a beaten man, which was really too bad. I set myself and walked over to him, studied his haggard face for a moment – then slipped my knife between his ribs. He made a sound that was almost a grunt, and the stunned look stayed with him even when he slid out of Val’s loosened grip and folded to the floor next to the disruptor. There wasn’t a sound from the captain or any of his crew, and Val stared at me in shock.

“Why did you do that?” Val demanded after a moment, his voice harsh with bewilderment. “He didn’t have to die, not when I already had him!”

“But this way no one has to have him,” I said softly with a shrug, making the words sound totally reasonable. “It saved a lot of paperwork and a lot of time and effort.

Now we have the whole ride back to play.”

I gave him a wink then bent to clean my knife on number seven’s shirt, keeping my face down just in case my expression slipped. The silence around me was absolute, and then Val dropped the knife I’d given him to the deck beside me and walked away without a word. I stared at the knife for a few brief seconds then slowly picked it up, feeling the warmth the hilt still retained. When I straightened up, the captain came closer and cleared his throat.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that in my entire life,” he stated shakily. “To just execute him like that, all by yourself! I know it’s your job, but it’s not one I could do. You don’t look it, but you must be the Federation’s toughest agent.”

“I’m not the Federation’s toughest agent,” I whispered, holding the still-warm knife to me as I watched Val disappear around the corner. “I’m only as tough as I have to be.

So long … partner.”

My mind was working just enough to let me tell the captain that I needed him to personally see to clearing the bodies away before he started to turn back to Tanderon. I needed a few minutes to get back to my cabin to turn off the suppressor, but that was the best excuse I could come up with. I got back to the cabin, straightened everything out, then called the captain to ask him to arrange for a special shuttle for me. I didn’t want to have to go through the orbital station.

When I was landed at the Academy’s shuttle port, I went straight to the hopper field then flew to Blue Skies. The flight took forever, but as soon as I grounded I went to the room that had been assigned to me. I needed to pack some of the things from my luggage that had been brought from the Academy, and then I was out of here. I didn’t need much, just enough to last until I got to wherever I was going. The main thing was to get away from here as fast as possible before my mind started to think, and I was too tired and in too much pain to keep it from happening much longer.

I went out into the hall with the small bag I’d packed, trying to decide who to leave the suppressor with. I had no intention of going looking for Ringer, but I saw him only a short way down the hall talking to Ralph so I walked over to him.

“It’s finished,” I told him, handing him the suppressor. “I’m taking one of the departmental ships from the field here, and I’ll let you know where I am when I get there.”

Ringer only frowned as I began to turn away, but Ralph put a hand on my arm.

“But you can’t leave now,” Ralph said with a gentle smile. “We have a date, remember? Let’s see if you can make me blush again.”

“Some other time, Ralph,” I said, holding up one hand and pushing vaguely in his direction. “Maybe some other time.”

I started to turn away again, but his hand stopped me again. “Diana, you can’t – ”

“I can do any damn thing I please!” I snarled, pulling my arm away from him. “Just leave me alone!”

I headed away from the two of them, knowing the sort of looks I was being followed by but not giving a damn. My head throbbed and my stomach was filled with acid, and all the stares from all the people within hearing range couldn’t have kept me from getting out of there. I went straight toward the front door, and was only twenty feet away from it when I thought I’d begun to hallucinate.

A figure that looked just like Val seemed to be coming in, but it was no hallucination because when he saw me he turned in my direction. I stopped short, feeling my head whirl, knowing I couldn’t go through facing him again for anything in the universe. In another instant I had backed up a few steps, dropped the bag I carried, then turned and started to run.

I raced down the hall between startled, exclaiming people, pushing my way through in deep, mindless panic. I barely saw Ringer and Ralph as I passed them, heard nothing but the sound of Val’s footsteps pounding on the floor behind me. I tried to run faster, tried to get away, but I’d been through too much and simply had nothing left. Then Val’s hands caught me from behind and pulled me to a stop. A moment later he’d pushed me up against a wall, his hands on my arms as I faced him.

I really did try to struggle to get loose, but there seemed to be no way to break free without hurting Val and I couldn’t force myself to do that. My head jerked back and forth as I searched frantically for a way out, but there wasn’t one. All I could see was Val’s body in front of me and the two guards to the left who were being kept from interfering by Ringer. I didn’t know what to do, didn’t know what to say, and then the decision on both was taken from me.

“Look at me!” Val ordered, his big hands shaking me to make me obey. “Look straight at me!”

Reluctantly I turned my head back to him and raised my eyes to his face, then immediately wished I hadn’t. He was absolutely furious, somehow angrier than I’d ever seen him before.

“I want the truth!” he rasped, black eyes blazing down at me. “When you killed that last man aboard the liner, you were executing him, weren’t you? Not playing twisted games but finishing the job according to Federation Law?”

I should have laughed at him and denied it, but his eyes refused to let mine go –

which meant the only thing I could do was nod very hesitantly.

“And that ‘nothing special’ routine you gave me, earlier in the cabin,” he growled.

“That was to set me up for the big show, wasn’t it?”

I nodded unwillingly a second time, and the gesture set him off like a spark to dry kindling.

“I’m going to beat you like you’ve never been beaten before!” he suddenly roared, back to shaking me like a dirty rug. His eyes were blazing mad, but somehow his finger strength didn’t match; although I couldn’t free myself, he wasn’t hurting me in the least. “I know what you were trying to do, you were trying to protect me from you, trying to force me away for my own good! Who the hell do you think you are that you can tell me who to associate with? If I want to be partners with a crazy female who poisons me and pulls knives on me that’s my business! I don’t need anyone trying to protect me, and when I’ve had enough I’ll say so on my own!”

I tried to cringe back from the volume of that roar, but those big hands held me right where he wanted me – in place for the rest of his tirade.

“It’s time things were changed,” he growled, his voice lowered back to the too-soft volume he’d started with. “I’ve had enough of you doing everything to suit yourself, so here’s the way it’s going to be. When we’re on a job you’re the boss, but when the job’s over I’m boss. You’ll listen to me and do as I say, or you’ll be very, very sorry.

Do you understand me?”

He shook me again to emphasize his words, then waited for an answer. There’s usually a choice as to what a given answer should be, but right now I had no choice at all since I couldn’t have argued with him even if I’d wanted to.

“Yes, Val, I understand you,” I whispered, trying to swallow the catch in my throat.

“And one last thing,” he added, the blaze in his eyes beginning to fade as his voice went to normal softness. “There are a large number of things I need to apologize about, but if you ever apologize to me again I’ll break your neck.”

I sobbed once and closed my eyes, and then his arms were around me, holding me to him. I leaned against his chest as I hung onto his shirt, fighting to keep myself quiet, knowing I’d ruined all my careful planning but helpless to do anything about it.

There was such a strange feeling of safety and contentment in his arms, one I’d never experienced before, one I couldn’t let go of. I was too confused to know what it meant, and then, abruptly, we were no longer alone.

“That was some show you just put on,” Ringer’s voice came, sounding amused. “Is it over now?”

“It’s over,” Val confirmed, still holding me. “It’s a good thing I used those procedures texts to keep from going crazy this past week. There’s a whole section on procedures to be followed when dealing with piracy, and if I hadn’t remembered it when I got to the orbital station, this would have ended differently. She’s too good at playing a part.”